Man arrested for weapons arsenal
By SHEILA BURKE
The Tennessean
Staff Writer
and CHRIS TUCKER
The Ashland City Times
http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/news/stories/20030827/manarrested.shtml
Only one spark in the right place and the sheer amount of firepower stockpiled in Steven
Lasky's home would have leveled his house and shook the block, officials said yesterday.
So much weaponry was in his Ashland City home, federal agents said, that it took several hours to remove it.
Investigators displayed a variety of weapons that they said had been confiscated from 1005 Trouble Road, including seven machine guns, about 500 blasting caps, military explosives and handmade grenades.
Why Lasky had the devices and ammunition was still under investigation, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and exlosives said.
"His residence itself was a hazard with all the explosive material that he had there," said
Larry Cooper, ATF assistant special agent in charge. "It was a danger to the community."
Lasky, 45, was arrested Thursday in Cheatham County after agents began a raid on his home. He was charged with one count of possessing firearms not registered with the National Firearms Registry and one count of unlawfully making firearms. Jim Vines, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, suggested the charges were preliminary and would change
later.
Agents would not say what led them to the home, about five miles from the Davidson County line, only that officials had received some information. Cooper, questioned at a news conference yesterday, said he would rather not speculate about what Lasky was planning to do with the weapons.
Lasky had C-4, a plastic military explosive, and conversion kits that are used to change semi-automatic weapons into machine guns. Agents said they were still looking into where he got the kits and the C-4.
"The military does not sell those items," Cooper said.
Authorities released few details about Lasky. He has served in the military and doesn't appear to have any criminal record, they said. He was not, as some of his neighbors said, a federally licensed firearms dealer.
Lasky lives alone and has a small tattered American flag in his front yard. A
camouflage-painted truck and similarly painted shed are on the property.
Many of his neighbors called Lasky a good man and voiced support for him after his arrest.
Elizabeth Carroll was one of them. She said Lasky had lived there for about three years and mowed yards for neighbors. She also said he once helped pull her son's car out when it got stuck.
"You need help? He was there to help you," she said.
The ATF didn't disagree that Lasky was congenial.
"Federal agents don't dispute that Steven Lasky was a good neighbor," Cooper said. "He just happens to be in violation of federal firearms laws."
___________________________________________________________
Now thats an arsenal if I ever saw one
By SHEILA BURKE
The Tennessean
Staff Writer
and CHRIS TUCKER
The Ashland City Times
http://www.ashlandcitytimes.com/news/stories/20030827/manarrested.shtml
Only one spark in the right place and the sheer amount of firepower stockpiled in Steven
Lasky's home would have leveled his house and shook the block, officials said yesterday.
So much weaponry was in his Ashland City home, federal agents said, that it took several hours to remove it.
Investigators displayed a variety of weapons that they said had been confiscated from 1005 Trouble Road, including seven machine guns, about 500 blasting caps, military explosives and handmade grenades.
Why Lasky had the devices and ammunition was still under investigation, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and exlosives said.
"His residence itself was a hazard with all the explosive material that he had there," said
Larry Cooper, ATF assistant special agent in charge. "It was a danger to the community."
Lasky, 45, was arrested Thursday in Cheatham County after agents began a raid on his home. He was charged with one count of possessing firearms not registered with the National Firearms Registry and one count of unlawfully making firearms. Jim Vines, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, suggested the charges were preliminary and would change
later.
Agents would not say what led them to the home, about five miles from the Davidson County line, only that officials had received some information. Cooper, questioned at a news conference yesterday, said he would rather not speculate about what Lasky was planning to do with the weapons.
Lasky had C-4, a plastic military explosive, and conversion kits that are used to change semi-automatic weapons into machine guns. Agents said they were still looking into where he got the kits and the C-4.
"The military does not sell those items," Cooper said.
Authorities released few details about Lasky. He has served in the military and doesn't appear to have any criminal record, they said. He was not, as some of his neighbors said, a federally licensed firearms dealer.
Lasky lives alone and has a small tattered American flag in his front yard. A
camouflage-painted truck and similarly painted shed are on the property.
Many of his neighbors called Lasky a good man and voiced support for him after his arrest.
Elizabeth Carroll was one of them. She said Lasky had lived there for about three years and mowed yards for neighbors. She also said he once helped pull her son's car out when it got stuck.
"You need help? He was there to help you," she said.
The ATF didn't disagree that Lasky was congenial.
"Federal agents don't dispute that Steven Lasky was a good neighbor," Cooper said. "He just happens to be in violation of federal firearms laws."
___________________________________________________________
Now thats an arsenal if I ever saw one